Tardieu René

Tardieu, René File 3270 The Bresler family, a Polish Jewish couple with four children, had emigrated to France from Poland and lived in Marseilles. After the mass arrests of Jews in Marseilles in January 1943, the Breslers fled for their lives and went to Valence, in the département of Drôme. There, M. Bresler met René Tardieu, a municipal police inspector. When Bresler described the situation, Tardieu decided to help him and took the entire family under his wing. Tardieu provided the Breslers with forged identification and ration cards, registered them at the town hall under assumed names, arranged housing, provided essential food supplies, and protected them until the liberation. By virtue of Tardieu’s assistance, the Bresler children attended school and the entire family led a nearly normal life. Tardieu also helped other Jews in Valence, thereby risking his position with the police and endangering himself and his family. The Tardieus and Breslers formed a friendship that endured for decades. On October 10, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized René Tardieu as Righteous Among the Nations.